Giles Nordstrom

Giles Nordstrom (5 March 1564-summer 1607) was a Swedish-born colonist of the Colony of Virginia during its early stages. One of the adventurers who was in the entourage of John Smith, he died at the Battle of Jamestown.

Biography
Giles Nordstrom was born in the Kingdom of Sweden on 5 March 1564 into a poor family, and was raised as a subsistence farmer, raising carrots and grain. However, in 1607 he headed to the Kingdom of England when he heard that all people who headed to help in the exploration of the new world for England would be given 50 acres of land (headright system) and would be given the rights of an English citizen. Nordstrom emigrated to England, and set out on a ship to Jamestown in the Americas.

One of the first Swedish settlers, Nordstrom became a friend of Captain John Smith and was trained to become a captain of the militia of Jamestown. Nordstrom's unit of musketeers held off Indian attacks during the Powhatan Attack in Virginia in 1607, and Nordstrom was killed in the Battle of Jamestown with 23 other English settlers.